


Wasteland, Baby!

by Gaia_Gaia



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Also I just wanted more fics from Makoto's POV that weren't ship fics, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Chihiro is a trans guy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Giving these characters the love they deserve, Granted I wrote a lot of ship-implied moments lmao, Hurt/Comfort, I have a THH bias and it shows, I have a THH survivors bias and it shows, I just wanted some Makoto angst that wasn't ship-centric, I listened to Wasteland Baby! once and now I can't get it out of my head, I love all these characters equally and it SHOWS, It fits so perfectly with DR though c'mon, Loosely based on the song "Wasteland baby!" by Hoizer, Makoto is a disaster bisexual, Makoto was on a first-name basis with everyone, Naegi Makoto-centric, Not Beta Read, Pre-Canon, There's not enough angst surrounding this cast, They're literally the only ones in the series who are confirmed dead, Trans Fujisaki Chihiro, Yes that includes Sayaka and Hifumi fuck you, You cannot convince me that Makoto wasn't friends with everyone in his class, change my mind
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29234658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gaia_Gaia/pseuds/Gaia_Gaia
Summary: Makoto Naegi's first and last conversations with his friends before their memories were wiped.
Relationships: Asahina Aoi & Naegi Makoto, Asahina Aoi/Ogami Sakura, Celestia Ludenberg & Naegi Makoto, Fujisaki Chihiro & Naegi Makoto, Fukawa Touko & Naegi Makoto, Genocider Syo | Genocide Jack & Naegi Makoto, Hagakure Yasuhiro & Naegi Makoto, Ikusaba Mukuro & Naegi Makoto, Ikusaba Mukuro/Naegi Makoto (one-sided), Ishimaru Kiyotaka & Naegi Makoto, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo, Kirigiri Kyoko & Naegi Makoto, Kirigiri Kyoko/Celestia Ludenburg (implied), Kuwata Leon & Naegi Makoto, Maizono Sayaka & Naegi Makoto, Naegi Makoto & Everyone, Naegi Makoto & Ogami Sakura, Naegi Makoto & Owada Mondo, Naegi Makoto & Togami Byakuya, Naegi Makoto & Yamada Hifumi, Naegi Makoto/Maizono Sayaka (implied), Naegi Makoto/Togami Byakuya (implied)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	Wasteland, Baby!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Sayaka plays in the latter half is Instrumental by Dodie Clark

Makoto nervously makes his way to the gym, trying his best to not bump into any of the other students. He was surprised to see this many people arrive here so quickly, especially since he arrived way earlier than he was supposed to. After all, he did bump into that girl when he went to go get a snack from the vending machine, and he went there minutes after he got there. Are there other classes having their entrance ceremonies at the same time? Is that a thing? Maybe it's just a Hope's Peak thing.

It has to be, based on how some of the students certainly don't look like they'd be his age. He wonders how big his graduating class is. He doesn't have to wonder for much longer, as he finally manages to find the doors to the gym. He glances at a nearby clock.

7:45am

Good, he's still on time.

Opening the gym doors, he discovers that his graduating class, is in fact, enormous. There has to be at least three thousand or so people here. Makoto's nerves from before skyrocket as he looks at the mass of students situated in chairs facing the stage.

There's two big sections of chairs, with a long strip of empty space separating them. Upon closer inspection though, the two sections seem to also be separated in two, with a muck skinnier strip of empty space separating them horizontally. He quickly spots an empty seat on the outer edges of one of the sections. He is way too intimidated to push past other students right now, so outer chair it is.

Makoto sits down next to a guy with black hair styled into a rather neat pompadour, and blue eyes. He's talking amicably to the guy next to him, who has short hair and twin scars running down his eyes and cheeks. They stop talking as soon as they notice him sit down.

"Hey!" The kid with the pompadour says.

Makoto tenses, drumming his fingers against his knee. "Ah, hello."

Cool Pompadour Guy, as Makoto has internally dubbed him, gives him an amused smile.

"And you might be?"

Makoto blinks. "Oh! My name's Makoto Naegi. It's nice to meet you!" He flushes, embarrassed that he didn't introduce himself sooner.

"Nice to meet you Naegi! The name's Jo—"

"Wait, did you say Naegi?" A voice pipes up from the chair in front of Makoto.

Turning to look, Makoto's breath catches in his throat as he comes face to face with none other than Japan's Ultimate Pop Sensation, Sayaka Maizono.

She's absolutely beautiful, with long blue hair, and striking navy blue eyes that seem to sparkle in the gym's dim lighting. She's turned around in her chair, her hands resting on the back of it, and her eyes curiously gazing at him.

It takes Makoto a second to realize two things: the first is that he's been staring at the teen idol long enough to be noticeable, and the second is that she said his name, almost as if she recognized it.

_Wait...does she...?_

Makoto's face turns a dark shade of red. "Y-yeah! That's, um, that's me."

She beams, and Makoto swears his heart might beat right out of his chest.

"Ah, it seems you found a friend. Nice to meet you Naegi!" Cool Pompadour Guy looks at the teen idol and then at Makoto before winking at him and turning back to his friend.

"Heyyy, I remember you! We went to middle school together. Do you remember that? Oh, sorry, I should have introduced myself first. I'm Sayaka Maizono, it's nice to meet you again Naegi!"

Yep. That's it. Makoto's going to die, right here, right now.

He gives her a shy smile, heart thundering away in his chest, but luckily his blush had calmed down somewhat.

"Mhmm. I remember, you were in class 1-A, and I was in class 1-B. How did you remember me though?" Makoto laughs nervously, and he's certain that he looks like a love-struck fool, "I always wanted to talk to you but you were always surrounded by your friends, so I just never had the chance."

It's Maizono's turn to blush now, a light pink dusting across her face, and it's completely unfair that it looks so pretty on her. She rests her chin on her hands, trying to hide the blush.

"Oh man, I'm going to sound so weird for bringing this up. Um, do you remember when our classes were outside, and there was that bird stuck in the pond?"

Makoto brings his hand up to his chin, shuffling through his memories, desperately trying to not look like an idiot for not remembering.

Finally, the memory clicks into place.

"Oh! I remember, it was a crane! There was a crane in the middle of the pond."

Maizono lifts her head up and nods enthusiastically. "Yeah! And then you guided the crane out of the pond and back into the forest. I remember thinking that you were so cool for doing that."

Makoto chokes. "C-cool?" He murmmurs it again, so quietly that he knows she won't hear, and he can feel his blush from before coming back full force, this time reaching his ears.

Maizono continues, almost as if she hadn't noticed him acting like a little kid with an elementary school crush.

"Of course I thought you were cool! I mean, you were the only one who managed to make the crane actually move," she taps her lip thoughtfully, and the action doesn't help Makoto in the slightest.

"Besides, I...ah...thought it was really kind of you to try to help the bird. You didn't have to, after all, but you still did. That definitely counts as cool under my book."

She fixes him with a determined stare, almost daring him to say that she was wrong. Granted, it's not like he could argue with her, but still. The compliment makes him feel all warm and tingly.

He grins at her, giving her a breathless, "Thanks".

They talk some more after that, conversation flowing smoothly between the both of them. Maizono turns out to be really funny, much to his surprise. There are several times where he burst out into giggles after something she'd say. Granted, as soon as he started laughing, she joined in very quickly.

Their talking quickly died down as the lights dimmed even further, and a spotlight shined down on the podium positioned on the stage. The principal walked out, and the students began clapping. The entire time he talked though, Makoto found himself distracted by Maizono and their conversations.

After the ceremony was over, she slipped a piece of paper into his hand, and walked away to get her classroom number from the tables situated at the back of the gym.

Makoto unfolded the paper, and written on it was a phone number, accompanied by a smiley face.

_We definitely need to keep talking more! My number is XXX-XXX-XXXX_  
_—Sayaka Maizono :D_

He smiles. Looks like his first year at Hope's Peak Academy is going to be much better than he thought.

\---

Makoto sags in relief as he opens the doors to the music hall and spots Sayaka sitting at the piano. There's a tenseness to her shoulders that hasn't left since they closed all the exits and windows. It makes Makoto's heart twist in sympathy.

He sighs as Sayaka stays unmoving, her eyes boring holes into the piano keys. Slowly, he walks into the room and makes his way up to the stage. There's a deep-bone weariness to Sayaka's posture, like she's one step away from shattering.

Hesitantly, he sits down next to her on the piano, and just like he suspected, she barely reacts, her gaze still on the piano keys.

Makoto drums his fingers against his knees for a few seconds, trying to determine if Sayaka is close to having an anxiety attack. He knows that she gets very quiet before it happens, that her already fair skin turns deathly pale, that her eyes go glassy before widening in pure panic.

She's definitely quiet, but instead of her eyes being glassy and distant, they look...miserable. And something else too, but he has a hard time placing what it is.

He worries his lip between his teeth. He feels guilty for not being able to say anything to comfort her, his brain moving at a sluggish pace, and his words lodged in his throat. But Sayaka is a very touchy-feely person, and it only increases when she gets anxious. So he does the next best thing, and presses close to her, their shoulders brushing against each other.

She leans against him, the movement so tiny that he wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't already hyper aware of everything. His lips quirk up slightly, happy that he was able to offer some sort of comfort.

"Did you know that the first song my group wrote together was a lullaby?"

Sayaka's voice startles him. It sounds hoarse and raspy, like she had cried a few hours ago and hadn't spoken since then.

"...No. That's pretty cool," he says softly. And it is.

"Sometimes, when my anxiety would get really bad, I would sing it to myself to calm down."

Makoto lets out a little hum as a response, scooting closer to Sayaka.

A heavy sigh leaves her, her body wracking in response. She lets her head drop on his shoulder, and they stay like that for a bit, Makoto offering his comfort and Sayaka gratefully accepting.

"...Do you wanna hear it?"

His reply is immediate. "Of course."

Sayaka stills for a second, before lifting herself off of him. Her lips are twisted into a saddened smile, but it's a smile nonetheless.

She lifts her hands onto the piano, her fingertips barely touching the keys.

There's a brief silence, one where Makoto swears the entire world holds its breath, readying itself for Sayaka's lullaby.

And then, the musical hall is filled with the gentle sound of the piano.

It starts slowly and softly, all of it coming from the sweet high notes, sounding innocent and naïve, before rising higher and climbing down.

The melody bounces from the higher keys to the gentle timbre of the low keys, before repeating the movement. It's beautiful, but it sounds...empty. Likes it's missing something, but he can't quite put his finger on it.

Suddenly, something shifts, and he doesn't know if it's a key change or if it's just the way Sayaka is playing, but the notes steadily reach higher and higher, almost like it was longing for something, yearning for it.

There's the briefest of pauses, like the song reached a realization, and then the melody is climbing back down, and there's a bitter sweetness to it, and it ends with soft and slow flourish, before finishing with a single low note.

It takes Makoto a second to realize that Sayaka never sang. It takes him another second to realize that there are tears streaming down his face.

He throws his arms around her, and she clings to him like a magnet, a choked sound coming out of her throat.

She sobs into his shoulder, her arms winding themselves around his torso and holding tight. Makoto does his best to hold her, running his fingers through her hair.

"I-I'm so w-worried about them M-Makoto."  
"I know."  
"W-what if s-something bad h-happened to them?"

He grits his teeth. "I know nothing bad has happened to them. They're strong. Just like you. They can take care of themselves."

She sobs harder, and it's getting a bit harder to breathe, but he doesn't mind. How can he, when one of his best friends is going through so much suffering? Before he can think to himself if it's a good idea or not, he's humming the song Sayaka just played.

Her cries slow down a bit, and he can hear her chuckle wetly.

"Thanks Makoto." Her voice sounds wrecked beyond belief.

He hugs her tighter.

"H-hey, Makoto. Could you promise me something?"

"Anything," he says. And he means it. Hopes she can hear it in his voice.

Sayaka breaks away from Makoto to look at him, but her arms remain loosely around his waist, so he does the say, keeping his arms around her shoulders.

"Could you promise to help me make sure they're okay?"

He doesn't have to ask her who "they" are, fully knowing that she's talking about her band mates.

He smiles softly at her. "You didn't have to ask me that, you know. I was always planning on helping you. I know how much they mean to you, so I'll help you find them no matter what. I promise."

He fixes a determined stare at her. He'll do whatever it takes to aid Sayaka, anything to alleviate that horrible feeling of despair, of not knowing if your loved ones were safe or not, of not knowing if they were even alive. He'll do anything.

Sayaka sags in relief, a small but tired grin spreading across her face.

"No matter what?"

He gives her a firm nod. "No matter what."

And sure, maybe a small part of Makoto wishes that she'd say the same thing towards him about his own family, but that is neither here nor there.

He pushes that small feeling to the side. It's not important right now, what's important is making sure Sayaka feels better. As better as one can get in their situation.

He continues holding her, continues humming the song, and he can feel her breaths start to slow down until they reach a deep and steady rhythm.

She's fallen asleep.

So slowly that he isn't even sure if he's moving or not, Makoto presses a gentle kiss on Sayaka's forehead. She smiles in her sleep, and Makoto's heart warms.

He knows, deep down, that he really would do whatever it takes to help her. Strangely, the thought scares Makoto a bit more than he thinks it should.

After half an hour or so, she wakes up again. His arm is completely numb, and she apologizes, but he doesn't mind. They say goodnight to each other after that, and the entire time Makoto can't shake the feeling of his lips on Sayaka's forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I include a Jojo cameo? Yes, yes I did. I'm obsessing over both fandoms rn, so every time I need to have a background character, expect it to be a Jojo character lmao. Also, feel free to ask me questions about my fics, current and future ones on my tumblr! http://itzlali-gaia.tumblr.com


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